Sri Lanka digital ID contract bids open soon: only Indian firms need apply

Sri Lanka is nearing the launch of a tender process for its biometrics-backed digital ID system, local tech publication ReadMe reports, but the opportunity to bid will only be extended to Indian suppliers.

The Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka plans to re-register and enroll the biometrics of the entire population of the country to back its Unitary Digital Identity, which is modelled after India’s Aadhaar.

The government of India signed a deal to support Sri Lanka’s government in the project earlier this year, which includes a 300 million Indian rupee (approximately US$3.8 million) grant to implement the national digital ID.

ReadMe says an ICTA official told it that an Indian company won a similar digital ID tender in the Philippines, where PhilSys registrations recently topped 66 million.

The official also said the process will include capture of people’s fingerprint and face biometrics, and possibly iris biometrics.

The registration process will take between one and two-and-a-half years following the completion of the procurement process.

The government has also launched the new Ministry of Technology and Investment Promotion, which ReadMe speculates may be responsible in part for promoting the digital ID system. The ICTA will be included in the new Ministry, as are Sri Lanka Telecom, and the Department of Registration of Persons.

Successive Sri Lankan government have sought to establish digital ID systems unsuccessfully.

Article Topics

biometric enrollment  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  government purchasing  |  India  |  national ID  |  Sri Lanka  |  tender